Thursday, October 21, 2010

Guest Author Interview: Ednah Walters + Giveaway

Ednah: I started writing in 1998. Yeah, I know, eons ago. I had just finished my PhD in chemistry and was expecting my third child. I had also decided to be a stay-at-home mother, major undertaking, but switching from academia to baby talk was so-oo hard. I felt like I was losing myself. Anyone who tells you that being a stay-at-home is easy is lying. So I started to write to find some balance in my life. I started with children’s books…you know, picture books with no pictures, lol. I wrote them for my children and read to them. They loved them. After several years, I thought why not send them to publishers? They hated them. Rejection after rejection…the bane of a writer’s life. Then I tried my hand at romance, something I’ve read since my teen years (psss, they only had kissing at the end of the stories then, no sex, very tame). That didn’t go well either. Finally I switched to YA fantasy.

I’m still learning to be the best writer I can be. Online classes and seminars on writing helped me a lot. Despite my love for reading and an active imagination, chemists are good at writing technical papers, not elegant prose. I call myself a work-in-progress as a writer.

EJ: What brought you to the paranormal genre?
Ednah: I’ve always loved paranormal, especially romance. I’d read a lot of Sherrilyn Kenyon’s books, J.R. Ward and L.A. Banks vampire books. Of course, I loved Tolkien’s work, Harry Potter series. There’s no limit to the world you can create in the paranormal genre. It is exciting to see what your characters can get away with (mwahahaha…).

EJ: If you could be any paranormal or have any one supernatural talent, what would it be? Why?

Ednah: Psi power like the kind Awakened main character Lil has—the power to change people’s perception of things. Imagine the ability to turn negative traits around…make a criminal stop, abuser stop abusing, abused people not get traumatized by the past. Yeah, I know people have free will and I’m a do-gooder, fair-minded, justice-is-blind Libran but hey, the world would be such a better place…lol.

EJ: Tell us why readers will enjoy your new release.

Ednah: Awakened has a strong female protagonist, romance, action and lots of danger. There’re myriad of characters different readers can identify with too. I tend to think of Awakened as a coming-of-age story. Who doesn’t remember how puberty hit us hard and the changes that came with it. Lil reaches the age the Nephilim consider puberty with a bang. She has powers to deal with, her first love who may or may not be the right person for her, responsibilities that are so overwhelming she must rise to the challenge or get burned. Readers will root for her to succeed.

EJ: If your book(s) were being made into a movie, who would you cast for the leading roles? Why?

Ednah: Hmm, that’s a toughie. The girls must be warriors yet feminine and the guys…ooh the guys must be smoking hot. Here goes;

Most teens turn sixteen and get the license to drive, Lil Falcon gets the license to kill demons, but no one told her she is not supposed to fall in love with one.

Orphaned as a child and raised by an eccentric grandfather, Lil is concerned with surviving high school and is unaware she's a Guardian—a being with super powers charged with killing demons and protecting humanity. But when she meets Bran, a mysterious boy with amazing abilities, his psi energy unlocks her latent powers. But Bran has a secret that can destroy their growing relationship. He's part demon. But in her heart, Lil knows Bran is not evil. So when her grandfather is kidnapped by a powerful nature-bender and Bran is the only one who knows where he's being kept, Lil convinces the other Guardians to trust him, not knowing her grandfather is just the bait. And the truth that she discovers in the demonic enclave may just destroy everything she believes in, unless she makes the right choice—love and sacrifice.

To learn more about Ednah Walters and her books, please visit her website.

** Awakened: Guardian Legacy Giveaway **

We are giving away one signed copy of Awakened by Ednah Walters, two Guardian Legacy notepads, two Guardian Legacy t-shirts (size medium), and two Guardian Legacy pens!

To enter, please leave a comment on this post including your email address (so we may contact you if you win). You do not have to be a follower to enter (though I always appreciate a follow!). US/Canada/Mexico mailing addresses only. Giveaway ends November 4th midnight EST.

Thanks for the great interview! I know how difficult that transition from one type of writing to another and it was wonderful hearing Ednah's story. This series sounds fascinating and the cover is beautiful.

I already have a signed copy of Ednah's book so please don't enter me into the competition.But I would like to say to all those on here who haven't read it yet, wow. You won't be able to put it down. The way Ednah writes it captures you from the start. Her character descriptions are amazing and the storyline, god, at the end I just wanted more, more, more.Ednah, great interview chickie. :) It's great to see all your hard work is finally coming through for you.Luv Angela.E